Tamarac Success Leads Owners To Open Second Diner In Davie

BUSINESS SCENE

Now that their first investment in the restaurant business can be deemed a success, Len Levenson and Jeff Nemet have started a new venture.

Levenson and Nemet, who have operated the L J Diner in Tamarac for the past seven years, opened their second restaurant last week in Davie.

The Tamarac restaurant serves about 10,000 customers a week, and the Davie diner, at 8990 State Road 84 in the Pine Island Plaza, also shows signs of being an excellent business location. About 2,400 people were served in the first three days.

"We expect to get busier," Nemet says. "The L J Diner is close to [the food at) home, meaning we make the customer feel at home."

The 8,000-square-foot restaurant, which represents a $1 million investment, has four dining areas, including a cocktail lounge that serves wine, beer and liquor. The menu offers more than 100 choices, from appetizers to vegetables, salads, seafood, Italian dishes, steak, sandwiches and hamburgers.

"We concentrate on customer satisfaction. Our main goal is to make our customers happy," Levenson says. "The food is the type of food you remember from back home when you were growing up. Meatloaf, mashed potato - that's what the L J Diner is all about."

The partners say they owe their success to their experience and expertise.

Nemet says he was a general manager in New Jersey for Ground Round Restaurant, and Levenson was vice president of franchise operations for Pizzeria Uno in Boston.

"We were tired of working for other people," Nemet says. "We learned enough from other people; we got together and opened a restaurant. We're busy, we're successful, and we're doing well."

The partners say they like the Davie location because of the area's demographic growth, and because there is plenty of parking for customers.